


Dangerous Gifts

by Echo_star



Category: The Gifted (TV 2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 20:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16919436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echo_star/pseuds/Echo_star
Summary: Marcos and John need to put aside everything that has happened to them to help a family in need. Based before season 2.





	Dangerous Gifts

_She’s so beautiful. The bright green strands of her hair catch in the moonlight and even from a distance he can see that her face is lit up in a rare smile. It’s that smile, the one that makes everything besides her disappear. She’s ethereal as she floats, twirling higher and higher into the sky before drifting down to land softly on the old car._

 

_He watches, captivated by her joy and the pleasure she takes from the simple excitement of using her gift._

 

_She jumps from the car, and he reaches for her. Arms spread as she runs towards him. The rhythmic pounding on the ground breaks the silence of the night. Before It gets louder and louder._

 

“Marcos! Wake up!”

 

_What’s John doing here? She’s running towards him, but she’s not getting any closer. He tries to will Johns voice away, clinging to Lorna’s smile._

 

“There’s a family in trouble. We need to Go. Now.”

 

Blinking his eyes open, all traces of the dream gone. He doesn’t need to look to the other side of the bed. She’s not here. If she was, she would be groaning loudly about another early start. Would make him forget about how much he doesn’t want to get up, before dragging herself from the room and leaving him to follow.

 

He pulls on whatever clothes are closest and makes sure to down an extra strong coffee before searching for John. As he walks in John breaks his conversation with Shatter. “Are you ready to drive? There’s a family on the outskirts of Atlanta who are mutant sympathizers and have been protecting some of the locals who have been targeted. They think they’ve been made.”

 

Rubbing a hand blearily across his face he asks, “What makes them think they’ve been discovered?”

 

“They spotted a drone doing a sweep of the area. They fear it’s only a matter of time until they’re found. They have mostly young children, some teenagers.”

 

“Got it.” Marcos replied turning to head out to the car with John following. It will never fail to shock him that they view children as a threat. Most of the kids are terrified, not violent.

 

They drive just below the speed limit. Fast enough that they make good time, but not fast enough that they attract attention.

 

By on the outskirts, John had meant they were basically rural. It’s mainly trees and back roads. The perfect place to hide. It makes more sense as well as to the urgency of this trip. Though spread out, there’s not many houses up here. It wouldn’t take long for sentinel services to find the them, depending on how intent they are.

 

Indicating as John turns off the road, they follow a beaten track through the dense bush to a cabin.

 

It’s homey, the kind of place he had imagined living in with Lorna one day. There’s some toys scattered across the front yard, a swing in the trees.

 

Parking the truck beside the house, Marcos gets out and cautiously follows John. It seems safe, but they’ve long since learned to be cautious.

 

Whilst John knocks on the door, Marcos waits off the porch beside the steps, keeping an eye out for anything that’s off or any potential trouble.

 

There’s footsteps inside before a strong female voice calls out “who are you and what do ya want?”

 

Ever the gentleman, John responds “My name is John Proudstar ma’am, and my friend Marcos Diaz. We heard you could use some help.”

 

The curtain moves beside the window and Marcos can make out a little girl with bright white hair and white eyes peering out. Their eyes lock, then she’s gone. The curtain fluttering shut where she had stood.

 

Keeping an eye out for any of the children, he moves closer to John. Something feels... off. Then he feels it, the keys being lifted from his back pocket.

 

Spinning around to look for the culprit, he lets his hands glow faintly in warning.

He hears a squeak before his keys fall to the ground, appearing from nowhere. Reaching down to pick them up, Marcos watches helplessly as they pick themselves off the floor to zip around towards the back of the house.

 

“Hey!” Marcos calls as he sees them disappear around the corner.

 

John turns to look at him questioningly and Marcos raises his hands exasperated.

 

“I need to get closer” the voice drifts to him from nearby though no one is there.

 

“Can’t hold it much longer” comes a labored voice. Before two people appear before him. Two little boys. One with reddish copper colored hair, the other with deep brown hair. The two small faces look up at him and Marcos lets himself relax. He knew there were kids here, they were just showing him their gifts. Right? He’s met lots of proud kids before.

 

Realization washes over their face before the red-haired kid nudges the brown haired one towards him.

 

“Hi mister” he says walking hesitantly forward before reaching out to lay his hand on Marcos’ bare arm.

 

Marcos smiles at the little boy, about to ask his name when his thoughts shift. The kids aren’t there are they? They were never there. What kids? Feeling his mind become cloudy he shakes his head stepping back. The thought is hazy, not concrete. Nowhere near strong enough to influence him.

 

“I can still see you.” Marcos said amused.

 

The red-haired boy sticks his tongue out before reaching for his friend. “Now you can’t.”

 

And he’s right. He can’t see them. Shaking his head at the young children’s antics, he turns towards John, checking to see if he witnessed what just happened, but he’s busy. Talking to 2, no 3 people.

 

An older teenager had her hand protectively on two lifts girl’s shoulders. Unsure if there’s actually two of the little girl or if it’s two people he moves closer, waiting for John to tell him the plan. But he’s focus is purely on the little girl as she speaks to him.

 

Now incredibly wary, he slowly moves up the steps, keeping a healthy distance between him and the kids. So far, these kids had proven to be precocious and unafraid of using their powers. Which apart of him was proud of, it reminds him of Lorna. On the other hand, they are unpredictable and using their gifts against him.

 

“John” Marcos called now close enough to see a set of twins (or duplicates?) and an older teenager.

 

He doesn’t respond, seemingly enthralled in whatever one of the twins is saying. The other twin turns to him, face young and innocent as she stares wide eyed at him.

 

Already alert, he feels the desire to go to them. Just forget everything and walk to them. Marcos takes a few steps forward before freezing. Shaking his head, he fights it, watching as the girls’ eyes widen fractionally.

 

“Cut it out. We’re here to help, not harm you.” The other girl is still speaking to John in hushed tones. “Please let him go. We don’t know how long until sentinel services come looking and we are wasting time.”

 

The twins look at each other before nodding and retreating to clutch at the older girls’ leg. She reaches down an arm to each girl, pushing them further behind her.

 

“What...” Johns voice trails off as his focus narrows in on the girl who had been talking to him. “That was interesting.” His gaze shifts between the two kids before checking on Marcos. “Are you alright?”

 

Nodding he replies “yeah, I had a run in with two other kids. Maybe three” he said remembering his keys dashing away.

 

John turns back to the three girls. “Can we speak to you? All of you? If you want to leave, it’s best we go now.”

 

The elder girl speaks “Hi, sorry about that. We don’t see new people often.”

 

Moving closer to John, Marcos tries to appease the girl. “It’s no problem, we just want to help. We don’t blame you for defending yourselves.”

 

Another teenager, a boy steps forward with Marcos’s keys hovering beside him “How do we know you are who you say you are? You could be one of _them”_ he says distastefully.

 

At a loss Marcos looks to John. It’s not like they carry business cards with them. They’re about to respond when a loud booming voice echoes through the House. “Let them in.”

 

The boy scowls, with the teenage girl tugging him back and the twins retreat quickly hands clasped as they run out of sight.

 

Exchanging a look, John and Marcos enter the house hesitantly. Whilst nothing violent has happened, these kids have no compunction about using their gifts against them.

 

Following the teenagers, they are lead into a large room filled with couches. There’s a lot happening in the room, but it doesn’t feel cramped, merely homey. In the corner the lady who initially answered the door is reclined in a chair, eyes closed with another man tending to her. Now he’s closer, Marcos can see the fatigue that lines her face, the lines etched deep show her age.

 

“Sit down” she gestures to the chairs around the room. “Sorry, it takes me longer and longer these days to recover.”

 

“You’re a mutant?” John asks. They had thought humans had been here.

 

“Pft, mutant.” She scoffs, opening her eyes to stare at them. “Mutant sounds problematic. Here we like to think of ourselves as being gifted.”

 

“How many of you are there?” Marcos asks, as he watches the teenage girl come in to help Care for the old woman.

 

“10. Including myself.” She responds before raising her voice “everyone, come down here” she calls before infusing a note of steel in her voice “please”.

 

Marcos can hear John talking but his focus is on the small people entering the room. There’s the twins who hover shyly behind the guy that had taken his keys, the two boys who he had first encountered, another boy who he hadn’t seen before and the first girl he saw. Her eyes white framed by long white hair. She looks cautiously around the room, before walking hesitantly towards him. Taking a step back he isn’t ready for the little girl to grab his hand. Her eyes brighten, the white becoming brighter before fading.

 

“You’ve been hurt but she will be back.” The girl said, her voice monotonous before blinking and making her way to stand beside the twins.

 

Marcos gapes at the girl, before shifting his attention to the lady in the chair “who are you and what are your gifts?” He asks, eyes still on the white-haired girl.

 

The lady’s eyes shift to him before saying “My name is Anna Fairchild and I can astral project. This,” she says turning to the man who had been helping her “is Robin And he is a telepath. Elliot” she says gesturing to the teenager who has Marcos’ keys “is a telekinetic. Elizabeth heals” she gestures to the female teenager. “Dominic and Liam,” she waves to the two boys he initially met “illusions and mind control. Calla and Camellia. Hypnotic Charm and Call. Amy And Zane, she nods at two kids, the white haired girl and another young boy.  Psychometry and he’s gifted in his own way.”

 

“That’s just a polite way of saying I can’t do anything cool.” The boy sitting protectively beside Amy pouts.

 

Marcos watched as Amy pushes him, a frustrated look on her face. Zane rolled his eyes before mouthing an apology for her before turning back to face him. “we all have gifts, that’s why they will hurt us.”

 

It was hard for Marcos, listening to the kid think of his powers as a curse. But he gets it because it wasn’t that long ago he considered them the same way. His powers made him different and not in a good way. If it wasn’t for Lorna…

 

Looking to John he shakes that thought from his mind. Pushes the pain back down to somewhere deep inside of him. These kids need him now. He can deal with his own life later.

 

Johns frozen, and Marcos knows that look on his face. It doesn’t mean anything good for them. Moving in response to the window, Marcos scans the horizon for any sign of movement. He doesn’t see anything but isn’t surprised when he hears John say, “They’re here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Another old story.
> 
> Side note, whats a better title? Lol i am terrible with them


End file.
